Hardy Charges Harassment In Longwood Police Stop

LONGWOOD — Not two weeks after his drunken driving conviction, Mayor Hank Hardy was pulled over Wednesday by Longwood police.

Police thought he was driving with a suspended license, but Hardy actually had a permit to drive for business purposes.

Almost immediately after being let go, Hardy filed a harassment complaint with City Administrator Don Terry against the Police Department and Officer Wayne Roberts.

''They wanted to get me. They talked about it. They planned it,'' Hardy said. ''They were hunting for me.''

Police must have probable cause, or a legitimate reason, before they stop anyone. In this case, Hardy said, police had no reason to stop him.

Police said their reason for stopping him was that they were led to believe by the Seminole County clerk of the court's office that Hardy had a suspended license.

Hardy, who works for his family's tree service business in Longwood, said he saw the police car lights behind him on State Road 434 at about 1:30 p.m.

''I just couldn't believe it.''

The last time Hardy saw police lights in his rearview mirror was a year ago, when Altamonte Springs officers arrested him for drunken driving. The charge led to calls for his resignation, the conviction and the end of his political career.

''I'm trying to put this thing behind me and they won't let me,'' said Hardy, who bowed out of a third-term bid immediately after a jury found him guilty earlier this month.

Assistant Longwood Police Chief Terry Baker said his officers have no vendetta against Hardy. He said his office called the county clerk's office after Hardy's conviction to see if the mayor still had a valid license. Baker said his office was told Hardy's license had been suspended.

Baker said the department frequently arrests people without a proper license.

''We handle other people the same way,'' Baker said.

He said the officers may have talked about Hardy's trial and conviction, but only in passing.

But Hardy questioned whether police call the clerk's office to check on other Longwood motorists. In his statement to Terry, he said Roberts indicated he had heard from ''the circle in the Police Department'' that Hardy had no valid license.

''They had to conspire in the Police Department to call the clerk's office, they had a plan to get me,'' he said.

Hardy said he has not been one of the Police Department's friends during his four years on the City Commission.

Longwood officers stopped his truck after the drunken driving arrest last year but let the driver go when they saw it was not him, Hardy said.